Cool Tools to Boost Agent Productivity for Remote Call Centers

14 top call center management tools that drive engagement and productivity of at-home agents.

You’re running a remote call center, and everyone, from agents to managers, is working from home. Whether this virtual setup is new to you, or you’ve been at it since before COVID-19 hit, you need to know how to effectively manage the productivity of your remote agents.

We’ve put together these 14 “cool” tools that will help you to monitor productivity and improve performance of your remote workforce. By driving agent efficiency, you’ll elevate your agents’ job satisfaction which ultimately reduces turnover and boosts the productivity of your entire virtual team. We’ve divided them into Communication Tools, Accountability Tools, and Agent Support Tools.  See our infographic below following the blog post or download here.

Communication Tools

Your agents need more than just computers and headsets to be successful. They require communication tools to stay aligned with business goals and connected with team leaders. Here are four that are well worth having in place: 

• Video Chat and Meeting Tool – Provide direction and guidance to help keep your agents motivated and engaged. Video communication platforms such as Zoom, Google Meet, MS Teams, and Skype, are ideal for team meetings, training sessions, one-on-one discussions, and more. 
• Broadcast Messaging – Enable managers to quickly and easily send out motivational or educational messages to all or select agents. Broadcast messaging is a great way to promote a positive, connected virtual culture. 
• Listen and Whisper – Give admins the ability to listen in on calls, whisper to agents, and jump in on conversations when needed. With this behind-the-scenes guidance, agents can be effectively coached and guided as they improve their performance. 
• Break Time Request – Increase productivity and promote accountability by giving admins the ability to approve or deny break time requests from agents. Auto-approval of breaks, including frequency and duration of breaks, can be preset for convenience. 

Accountability Tools

Your call center success hinges on maintaining consistent agent productivity. Gain valuable insights into the performance of each agent—by the hour and over time—by tracking metrics in real time with these four accountability tools. 

“An agent who’s normally a good performer could be having a bad week for some reason. We’d see those results in the data within 4 hours and we’d be able to address it. Sometimes they just need time off. They need a break. Sometimes the agents burn out.” —John Gallagher, CFO at a solar outbound call center

• Agent Monitor Screen – Keep track of critical campaign data, such as dial level, drop rating, number of dialable leads, and total number of agents that are currently logged in. From a single unified screen, admins gain the capability to monitor every agent’s status and listen to their live calls. 
• Agent Productivity Logs – Maintain tabs on agent log in and log out time stamps, as well as their availability status with reason codes. Agent productivity logs can be used like a timeclock to keep track of agent hours. 
• Wrap Up Time Limit – Set the amount of time agents are permitted after a call (wrap up time) before they are timed out with a forced pause and a preset, automatic popup message.
• Auto Logout – Use logic rules to auto log out agents if they’re on a dead call for too long or are spending too much time on a pause code. Reports can be created from auto logout data to improve agent productivity.

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Agent Support Tools

Streamline agent workflow and build their momentum by automating and minimizing repetitive tasks. Efficient management of dialing strategies and leads will help drive success for your agents by increasing contact rates and guiding conversations to conversions.

“You have to find ways that you can automate. When you add up those seconds amongst hundreds of calls, you start seeing a big difference. If the agent’s experience is smooth, then the consumer’s experience is smoother, and they have a better experience across the board. The agent converts more, now the morale goes up, the turnover goes down.” —Nima Hakimi, Co-Founder & CEO of Convoso [speaking on a panel on “The Three Efficiencies That Drive Call Center Performance”

• Customizable Agent Dashboard – Improve agent experience by providing a user-friendly dashboard with customizable colors and layouts. 
• Lead Follow-up Automation – Create a schedule to automatically decide when to place outbound calls or send non-voice communications, like text, email, or smart voicemail drops. Add personalized details to drive more inbound calls and continue outreach over select channels until conversion or for a set amount of days. 
• State/Skill Routing – Automatically route leads, using your predictive dialer, to agents using specific criteria, such as state, language, or demographics. 
• Quick Dispositions – Streamline tasks to one click and cut wrap up time by taking action during the call rather than waiting until the call has ended. Flexible transfer options also save time.
• Dynamic Scripting– Simplify calls and train agents in record time and enable them to deliver a better experience with increased cross-sell and upsell opportunities. With dynamic scripting, agents follow a natural conversational flow that automatically fills in relevant details to address prospects personally and guide them toward a sale. 
• Workflow Dialing – Optimize calls for maximum connection rate by staggering them at different times of the day. Schedule a cadence by staggering calls to reach leads at different times of the day for maximum connection rate.

The Cool Tools for Productive Remote Agents INFOGRAPHIC

The Complete Guide

How to run a profitable remote call center

Download now

Make Informed Decisions to Guide Your Success

Keeping your remote call center operation on track for growth and profitability requires monitoring the right KPIs with real time reporting. Check out our list of the 16 essential KPIs that are used by the most successful outbound call centers.

When you make decisions based on the right KPIs, you’ll be able to better optimize your predictive dialer software. And that will definitely improve remote agent productivity.